January 29, 2010 –
North Carolina’s
PittCountyMemorialHospital received an EC135
from American Eurocopter in the first step of complete helicopter fleet
upgrade for its EastCare air medical service. EastCare has been an
operator of Eurocopter rotary-wing aircraft since the mid-1980s, and
will base the new EC135 at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport.This helicopter will be joined in April and May by two EC145s to
be delivered by American Eurocopter, which are to be located at PittCountyMemorialHospital
in Greenville, N.C.

“We are proud that
EastCare has selected Eurocopter products to continue its important
missions and its legacy of providing safe air medical service to eastern
North Carolina,” said Marc Paganini, American
Eurocopter President and CEO.

Rhonda Reeder, the EastCare transport team’s administrator, said the
EC135/EC145 mix will offer excellent flexibility for its operations –
which provide rapid transport and advanced medical care to critically
ill pediatric and adult patients.EastCare covers a large service area encompassing 29 counties in
eastern
North Carolina, and which can extend into Virginia.

“Both the EC135 and EC145 provide the right cabin size for our
double-patient transport configuration with a full complement of
critical-care medical equipment,” said Reeder.“They also meet our no. 1 goal of safety, with such advanced
technologies as night vision goggles, the Terrain Awareness and Warning
System, Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System and single-pilot IFR
operation.”

From its base at Rocky Mount-Wilson Regional Airport, the EC135 will
provide rapid response times to emergency accident scenes, and its
compact footprint enables the helicopter to operate from more
constrained landing sites.

EastCare’s two EC145s will provide
the additional range for flights across its coverage area without the
need for refueling, while retaining the full medical equipment and
double-patient airlift capability.

All three
helicopters are purchased for the EastCare service, and are to succeed
three Eurocopter BK-117s that currently are operated on a lease
arrangement and flown by Air Methods.“Our decision to move from lease to the purchase gives us more
control over the aircraft, particularly in maintenance and operations,”
Reeder said.“The
EC135/EC145 mix is a great choice for us, which was driven by their
cabin size, performance and similar features.”

EastCare is
accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport
Systems, and its fleet of three BK-117s flew more than 2,080 patient
flight hours in 2009.

American
Eurocopter is a helicopter manufacturer that produces, markets, sells
and supports the broadest range of civil and para-public helicopters
offered by any manufacturer in the United States.
The company is a subsidiary of EADS North America Holdings, the North
American operations of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and
related services, and is an affiliate of Eurocopter, the largest
helicopter manufacturer in the world.

American Eurocopter’s
product line represents the most cost-effective,
technologically-advanced helicopters, ranging from light single to heavy
twin, serving all markets and missions. Company headquarters and main
facilities are located in Grand Prairie, TX, with a large manufacturing and production facility in
Columbus,
MS, that produces the UH-72A for the U.S. Army’s
Light Utility Helicopter program.